First In

Three US Air Force crews flying C-130J Super Hercules transports from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, landed on Lielvarde AB, Latvia, on 17 June 2014. These were the first US Air Force aircraft to land at the newly-renovated installation. The C-130J crews brought equipment and approximately ninety Airmen from the 435th Contingency Response Group at Ramstein to build a bare-base operation as part of the large-scale Saber Strike 2014 exercise. The exercise spans multiple locations in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and involves approximately 4,500 personnel from ten countries.